Sr. Test Engineer (Gasification R&D)
About this role
About Us
At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them. Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale.
Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we’re applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.
If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we’d love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.
Steward our planet: We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.
Lead with Love: We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.
Explore the Uncharted: We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.
Role Overview
We’re seeking a Sr. Test Engineer to envision, build, and operate the test campaigns that drive Arbor’s high-pressure gasification R&D program forward. The program runs at conditions never before attempted at any scale—a first-of-a-kind, fouling-, plugging-, and erosion-prone service that demands test hardware and instrumentation engineered to survive it. You’ll lead the design, build, instrumentation, and operation of the test stand, working closely with gasifier reactor engineers and Arbor’s Systems Engineering team to turn ambitious campaign objectives into safely executed tests and trustworthy data. This role rewards an engineer who moves fast with loose guidance and tenaciously drives open questions to resolution; as Arbor’s R&D priorities evolve, you’ll bring the same test-engineering rigor to programs across the company. It’s hands-on, high-stakes work at the frontier of carbon-negative baseload power.
This is an onsite opportunity in our San Bernardino, CA test site.
Responsibilities
- Lead test-stand development from concept to ready-to-run—design, procure, build, instrument, and commission the fluid, mechanical, and control hardware needed to test high-pressure, high-temperature gasification systems.
- Design instrumentation, sampling, and flow-control hardware that survives particulate-laden, erosive, fouling service—purged pressure taps, protected thermocouples, syngas sample lines, and hot control valves that stay alive and trustworthy through a full campaign.
- Automate test operations and implement safe, repeatable abort and interlock logic for high-energy test sequences.
- Direct test execution—campaign planning, startup and shutdown sequencing, on-site operation, and real-time decision-making.
- Partner with gasifier reactor engineers and Arbor’s Systems Engineering team to translate campaign objectives into executable test plans, P&IDs, and operating procedures.
- Troubleshoot hardware, instrumentation, and control issues to root cause; drive corrective actions through to verified resolution and feed lessons into the next test.
- Develop and maintain test-site procedures and operating practices, ensure compliance with safety standards, and participate in process hazard analyses (PHA/HAZOP) as the program evolves.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, or related Engineering field.
- 5+ years of hands-on test-engineering experience—system testing, validation, or commissioning—with meaningful time spent building and operating test stands.
- Direct experience with high-pressure gas systems and high-temperature systems, including the hardware, instrumentation, and safety practices they demand.
- Strong instrumentation, sensor integration, and data acquisition skills—a track record of getting reliable measurements out of difficult service and turning test data into clear findings.
- Highly self-directed—able to take a broad goal, operate with minimal oversight, and drive the details to resolution without waiting to be steered.
- Strong ownership mentality and a curious, inventive mindset suited to a small, fast-paced startup environment.
- Willingness and ability to work on-site at Arbor’s test facility in San Bernardino, CA.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience with gasification, slag-forming or oxy-fuel combustion, refractory-lined reactors, FCC, coker, ash- or solids-handling, or other dirty, high-temperature, fouling-prone systems.
- Hands-on operating experience in a pilot plant, test stand, national lab pilot program, or aerospace test cell environment.
- Proficiency with Python, MATLAB, or similar for data reduction; experience with PLCs, control systems, and industrial sensors.
- Experience with supercritical CO₂ or other high-pressure (100+ bar) systems.
- Familiarity with relevant industry standards (ASME, API) and test-site safety practice.
- Background in startup, R&D, or first-of-a-kind hardware development environments.
Compensation & Benefits
- Pre-IPO stock options
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
- Basic life insurance fully covered
- Health savings account (HSA) with matching
- Flexible savings account (FSA)
- Unlimited PTO
- 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
- 401(k)
- Commuter benefits
- Annual learning and development stipend
- And more!
Base Pay: $150,000 - $175,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.
Our Commitment
Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.
Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment—please let us know if you need one.
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